An Eatin' Adventure

(Holly Hill, SC: 27 Feb 2010) One important criteria to check off on a state as having been "Hatched" is to experience a local eatery. I wanted to make this very specific and say, experience local barbecue, but decided to keep it open. Although Jestine's Kitchen in Charleston certainly filled that quota and we could have called it quits, I found another candidate on chowhound.com that was a bit more adventurous and fit the barbecue category. Sweatman's BBQ in Holly Hill, SC was the target.
It was adventurous because it is way off the beaten path (about 30 miles off the interstate) and because one of the reviews made compared the building and location to Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Mississippi Burning. We expected good food, but we weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into. In the end the food was very good...not the best BBQ I (we) have ever had, but very good, and the reviewer was a little over dramatic in his description. It certainly is out in the middle of nowhere and it is a very non-descript building, but the people were nice and the setting fit the down home taste of the food. There was dark and white pulled pork with a "hash" sauce. Also ribs, rice, skin, coleslaw and pickles served buffet style with all the sweet tea you can drink. The sauces were very basic; a mustard based sauce and a ketchup based sauce. The hash sauce was also mustard based.
On the way back home (to the RV!) Joy and I compared notes on what makes good BBQ. We realize that the cooking process of smoking the meat so the juices cook into and don't dry out the meat is the real key. But for both of us, we really like the sauce and we tend to like the more western, Texas style ketchup based sauces. So the food at Sweatman's gets high marks for the quality, flavor and texture of the meat, but low for the sauces. (I admit I am a self-proclaimed BBQ connoisseur and sometimes snob)
We'll keep you posted as to how this ranks in our Roady eating experiences, but it was worth the trip.

Doin' the Charleston X 2

(Charleston, SC: 26-27 Feb 2010) You were going to have to imagine how beautiful Charleston is, because when we got downtown after the 30 minute drive from our RV campground, we realized we forgot the camera. But it is such a beautiful old city it was worth having an excuse to go back a second day, with the camera, to capture it not only in our mind's eye, but in digits too so you can see what we saw. A bit about the city. One of the oldest cities in the U.S. first settled around 1670. Big slave city early on; 3 of every 4 slaves that came to North America before 1800 came through Charleston. The fourth largest city in the colonies at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Two signers of the Constitution are from Charleston and buried here (we actually saw their graves): Charles Pinckney and John Rutledge. And of course this is where the Civil War began with the firing on the Union Fort Sumter which sits about 1 mile from the tip of the peninsula on which Charleston sits.
The thing that most amazed us about this city is the architecture and the large number of incredibly preserved old old homes here. Houses from the Revolutionary War period, pre-Civil War, Civil War and later. Old churches too. There are even a few original cobblestone streets.
A highlight for us was a late lunch at Jestine's Kitchen. I found this gem on chowhound.com, a website where people are the food critics. Joy enjoyed her original southern fried chicken and I devoured the meatloaf sandwich. We topped it off with Coca-Cola cake and Pecan pie and coffee. Mmmm good. It was so good the first day, we went back to their bakery on day 2 and got some goodies for the road!
If you have never been...for the history, the buildings and the food...Charleston is worth a visit!

Winged Warrior

(Charleston, SC: 25 Feb 2010) Chris Peterson is the son of our long time dear friends Pete and Pam Peterson. Chris is a Captain in the Air Force and flies C-17 cargo/airlift aircraft out of Charleston AFB. He just got back from Qatar in January after a four month deployment serving in the war effort. We came to Charleston primarily to catch up with Chris. Chris has had a special place in my life since 1996. When I was transferred to the Pentagon and we couldn't sell our house in GA which kept Joy and the girls from moving with me, I stayed with Pete and Pam and Chris in their townhouse in Springfield, VA. Later when Pete and Pam were sent to Turkey and Chris stayed back in VA to finish his high school senior year, I got to be Chris's stand-in dad on several occasions.
We enjoyed dinner together and catching up on Chris's life in the Air Force and here in Charleston. Since our son-in-law CJ is in the middle of AF pilot training we quizzed Chris extensively about his experience, not that long ago, in pilot training. It was not an easy time for Chris. He struggled greatly and several times came close to being eliminated from the program. He was not the first in his class, but eventually he received the prized pilot wings. He was however, the first to recognize how God used this experience and other things that were going on to humble him and strengthen his faith. Through the hard times he hung in there, kept faith, worked hard, and tried to keep a positive attitude. In the end he didn't just get his wings, he also got his choice of assignments. He took Charleston, perhaps the premier C-17 base in the Air Force. He continues to work hard, keep faith, and wait on God for what's next (like maybe bringing the right woman into his life!)
Chris has a special place in our hearts. It was great to see him. We were encouraged in our own faith as we saw God's faithfulness in his life.

A Christmas Experience

(Easley, SC: 23-24 Feb 2010) I have known BC Christmas for almost 20 years, but had never met his family. And though we were both on active duty at the same time and were both Air Force logisticians what we have in common is bigger than that - - the core of our friendship is our faith in Jesus Christ. BC retired in the mid 90's and went to work as a DoD contractor. I kept up with him through mutual friends and then our paths crossed more regularly when he got work at Joint Forces Command where I was assigned. When Joy stayed in Alaska after Kylan was born, BC stayed with me at the house in Suffolk and we were able to deepen our friendship in Christ. BC is one of those few people I had in my professional life who could walk into the office after not seeing each other for months or years and nearly the first words out of his mouth are, "How's your walk with the Lord!" We need friends like that.
Joy and I had the privilege of experiencing the entire Christmas Clan in a brief visit to their home outside Easley, SC. When you visit a family with 5 school age kids you don't just visit you participate. That is, you just step into their events and activities and connect with them as life happens. We parked the big rig in a big parking lot in town where we hooked up with BC and his wife Kimberly. This was the first time I met Kimberly and BC met Joy for the first time. We drove with them to pick up their younger daughters Kari, and Katherine at school while Kimberly ran another daughter Kirsten to flute lessons. We then drove to a gymnasium at Bob Jones University (all the kids are enrolled in the Bob Jones school system which is a unique...perhaps one of a kind "K to PhD" program) to watch son Will play an exciting intramural basketball game (triple overtime!). The game ended being up being the family meeting place that afternoon and we met oldest child, daughter Kasey.
We were able to park the RV and camp in the front yard of the Christmas Corral, their hilltop homestead with majestic views of the Great Smokey Mountains. After surviving the greeting by their four, yes, 4 Golden Retrievers, we enjoyed a wonderful family meal and were introduced to the family tradition of reciting 1st Corinthians 10:31 before giving thanks for the meal.
We got up late and they had already taken the kids to school. Kimberly and BC cooked up a great breakfast and lingered over coffee (some of us drank lots of coffee) and we shared story after story of how God has worked in our lives over the years. BC had always bragged on his talented and beautiful family and he has described his home to me many times before, but seeing was indeed believing. This was a Christmas experience which we will not soon forget.

Andy, Barney, Opie and Aunt Bea

(Mt Airy, NC: 22 Feb 2010) My friend Pam and I share a love for the Andy Griffith Show and I Love Lucy. So while she may own the Andy Griffith Board Game I was able to actually visit "Mayberry", or at least the town that claims to be Mayberry! Mt. Airy, North Carolina, where Andy Griffith once lived has taken on the appearance of Mayberry. We visited the Andy Griffith Playhouse & Memorabilia Collection, took a picture of Floyd's Barber Shop (where a man who looks remarkably like Floyd was cutting hair). He actually took our picture to put on his wall; so if you ever go there see if you can find us! We ate lunch at Snappy Lunch, the only restaurant in town that Andy spoke of going to eat at. Then we got some candy at Opie's Candy Store. We visited the courthouse where I entered Otis' cell and Ed sat behind Andy's desk to make an important phone call. Next door was Wally's Gas Station where we were tempted to buy one of Goober's famous hats but felt that would have been going a bit too far! While it really looked nothing like what I envisioned Mayberry looking like, it was fun and we met some interesting people. But the most important thing is that I one upped Pam and sent her a postcard telling her so!

Now besides Pam does anyone know if or how Andy and Barney were related?????

Around the World in 8 Hours...

(Orlando, FL: 10 Feb 2010) In a one day excursion through Disney's Epcot Center we toured UK, Morocco, Italy, Norway, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Japan, France, and of course the USA. A Future World also exists in Epcot with venues for Land, Sea, and Space among others. It was a balmy 56 degrees in Central Florida with a gusty 10-15 mph wind. We lunched in France and then predictably had dinner in America at the Liberty Inn. One of our favorite attractions was The Sea with Nemo and Friends where we learned to talk Turtle with Crush the "dude" talking cartoon turtle from the movie Finding Nemo. The country attractions were cool; Canada was a hit with a 360 degree film showing the incredible beauty of our northern neighbor narrated by Martin Short. We enjoyed a cappella singers in the America Adventure building and watched amazing Chinese acrobats in the China pavilion.
A really cool nice touch of detail that only Disney could pull off; all the workers in each of the countries were not only in country costume, but had authentic accents. Imported ambiance.

A Holy Land Experience

(Orlando, FL: 8 Feb 2010) In the theme park Mecca of Orlando is a surprise and incredibly unique park called The Holy Land Experience. Trinity Broadcasting Corporation owns and manages the park which has been around for 9 years and, as the name states, tries to provide a mini experience of the Holy Land through a Christian and Biblical perspective. You enter through Noah's Ark like animal menagerie on one side and a manager scene on the other side; you walk through streets that are filled with characters in 1st century Palestine costume along buildings and displays made to look authentic to the time. There is a an outdoor 1/6th scale replica of Herod's Temple that existed in Jerusalem at the time of Christ. There are indoor exhibits/attractions like the Wilderness Temple, where a man dressed like a Levitical priest blows the Shofar horn and explains and acts part of the Passover sacrificial ceremony. In another building is a huge scale model of the city of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. A man stands in the middle of the model and explains the history of Jerusalem from the time of it's founding by King David from the City of Jebus to the razing of the city by the Romans in 70 AD. A building called The Scriptorium houses one of the largest private collections of Biblical documents and manuscripts in existence. Small groups of visitors are moved through 14 rooms of artifacts and displays every seven minutes, telling the story of the translation and preservation of the Bible over thousands of years. One room has a copy of Matthews Bible, which was an English translation done in the early 1500's in England. This was the period in English history of the oppression of religious worship and limited freedom. The copy of Matthew's Bible in the collection actually has a blood stain across the pages where the owner was attacked and brutalized for owning a Bible!
We saw an abbreviated street play of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. The strangest experience of all was having communion with John and Jesus. After communion Jesus came through the crowd and touched each person and pronounced blessings on all (it was weird).
There were not huge crowds the day we went, but I will commend TBN for taking an opportunity to share the gospel at every opportunity.
This was truly an unexpected and pleasant surprise...A Holy (land) Experience in Orlando!

Catching Up in Greensboro

(Greensboro, NC: 2/21/2010) Had a great time catching up with nephews Michael and Chris Vargas and Michael's girlfriend Valerie. We attended their church, Central Community Church and then went out to lunch. The church is trying to reach people lost, unchurched or burned-out on church. They have a high powered band that leads the worship...they call it Ignite Worship (Chris plays drums). We appreciated them handing out ear plugs! It is the first time we ever had the preacher invite the congregation to text him during the service and at the end of his sermon he answered the questions that had been texted! Hey...whatever works...and this seemed to work. We were the oldest folks there by far, but we heard the Word preached, lifted our hearts in worship and met God....and that's what it's all about!
It was good to see how God is providing for the boys.The both have jobs and Chris is making plans to go back to college in the fall. Valerie is a delight and Joy now has a Facebook friend to keep tabs on the boys!

Welcoming Change

"All change is uncomfortable. Even when it is desired, change can be disturbing, for it disrupts your normal way of doing things. It introduces the unknown, the unexperienced. It can leave you feeling disoriented. It can call into question your strength and confidence. Strong emotions may arise within you, ones you'd rather not face, or ones you don't know how to face. Whatever this change means to you, at one time or another it will create a sense of unease. Or it may bring something even more unpleasant--a pain that won't go away."

A few days after we left Suffolk I found myself spiraling into a hole that I could not crawl out of. I felt lost, disconnected, disoriented, angry, confused, lonely, lethargic and a lot more. The more Ed prodded me the more angry and guilty I felt.

Staying in a little apartment at Wycliffe Headquarters waiting for the RV to be carpeted I came across a book, "Welcoming Change..Discovering Hope in Life's Transitions". The words I read expressed all that was happening to me and why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Even though this "new beginning" was something we had dreamed of, planned for, hoped for, waited for, it also meant something was ending. "The beginning of any transition is not really a beginning--it's an ending." I hadn't thought of that and it took me by surprise these emotions that came upon me and overwhelmed me.

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." Anatole France

As I enter this new beginning I'm learning to let go of what is ending. But just as I'm leaving a part of myself behind I'm also taking a part of those I'm leaving with me. Good memories, great conversations, wonderful times of sharing, laughter, spiritual refreshment, crying, holding one another accountable, praying for one another through hard times, studying God's word. Thanks ladies, we'll do it again!

A Worthy Crusade...

The only tour offered by Campus Crusade introduces groups to The Jesus Film Project, just one of over 40 ministries under the umbrella of Campus Crusade for Christ International. But what a ministry it is. We were a little familiar with the Jesus Film, but the tour and presentation gave us a whole new appreciation for this amazing presentation of the life of Christ and how the Lord has used this tool over the past 30 years to tell the old old story of Jesus and his love for the world.
The project started with a vision to reach the people groups in the world with the gospel who have no written language. Over 50% of the world has only an oral means to hear and learn about the world. The first class film production was first made in English in 1979. Since then the film has been translated into 1082 languages and over 200 MILLION people (that's right MILLION) have accepted Christ as their personal savior through viewing the film. There are over 500 Jesus Film teams working in 72 countries around the world today. Almost every flavor of Christian denomination, Catholic and Protestant and many ministry organizations have effectively used the film. Many missionaries in countries with hard to reach people groups are using the film to plant churches.
The tour is about 45 minutes and explains the technology behind recording the sound and doing the dubbing and lip synching necessary to make the film a credible presentation in one's own tongue. It's amazing what they do.
The most humbling part of the tour is seeing the Wall of Honor. The wall honors the names and stories of those who have been killed...martyred, trying to show the film or get the film produced in their own language.
If you're interested in a meaningful missions trip, check out the 2 week trips that you can take with a Jesus Film team showing the film to people who have never heard the story of Jesus and the good news of salvation in Him.

Small World...BIG God

Joy and I went to a really small college in Portland, Oregon. There were maybe 800 students at Multnomah School of the Bible (now Multnomah University) in the 70's. Our class size was all of 150-175 students. We have a handful of close friends from those days we keep up with, but they all live in the Pacific Northwest. The last thing in the world we expected while getting some work done on our RV and checking out the sights in and around Orlando, Florida was to run into a friend from college.
While here we didn't just want to do the Disney tourist thing, but also to check out a couple ministries we have supported over the years. Campus Crusade for Christ and Wycliffe Bible Translators both have their headquarters here in Orlando. We have a friend who is a Bible translator and I have always been fascinated by the work and challenge of Bible translation, so we went there first (they are actually right next door to each other). Wycliffe has put together a fantastic hand's on display and interactive experience called WordSpring Discovery Center. There you learn about the long history of Bible translation as well as the relatively young history of the Wycliffe organization and ministry itself. We timed it to get there for the one time a day they have a face-to-face time with a missionary, before going on the self-guided tour. We arrived a little late and the missionary had already started. It was a small group and he was asking all of us where we were from, we said, "Virginia, but moving to Oregon". He made a comment about having gone to college in Oregon and having fond memories of it. Initially we didn't think anything of it and settled in for the fascinating presentation about the work of Bible translation around the world. As the guy got going we realized we knew him. "That's Gary Peterson", Joy elbowed and whispered to me (not in that order). The "Gary" on his nametag helped, but his expressions, mannerisms and look (though the years have been kind to him) was familiar. When the session finished up we had to wait while others cornered Gary to get their own questions answered. We finally got him aside and asked him if he had gone to Multnomah. He said he had and then looked at us with a closer knowing look. When I re-introduced myself after 35 years, he said, "I thought when you guys came in that you looked familiar". We had a great time that day catching up and sharing about our spiritual pilgrimage since Bible college days. We went back again the next day and had lunch with him, shared family pictures and did the "who's who" update of who we have kept up with since college days. It was a special and unexpected blessing and just like God to give us this gift of blessing as a token of what is to come on our Oregon Journey.

See ya later...Not Goodbye

(Suffolk, VA 1/26-27/2010) We made some great friends during our 7 years in Suffolk. Some of them threw a Bon Voyage party for us on our last Saturday in town. There was even a cake decorated with a toy car (representing our motorhome) and tow-truck. I asked if the toys were prophetic symbols like in Isaiah and Jeremiah...of impending doom, or something that was going to happen and they were indicating we would have many breakdowns along the way. The car and tow-truck are on opposite ends of the cake, I was informed, so the implication is a blessing and a prayer that God would keep us from breakdowns.
So, when you cut a cake at a going away party for people who are getting ready to travel for months on end, what is the appropriate song to sing? Happy Trails, of course. So, our friends sang, "Happy Trails to you, until we meet again".
The next day at church we ran into someone who doesn't like saying goodbye. As we hugged he reminded us that this is, "see ya later", not "goodbye".
And so it is...

Colonel and Mrs Hatch...Departing

(Suffolk, VA 1/26/2010) As we motored our land-yacht and dinghy (RV and tow-car) out Virginia Highway 58 past the familiar sights and we saw Suffolk VA in our rear-view mirrors I asked Joy to pucker up. ---
One of the things I enjoyed about the last 10 years of my Air Force career was the opportunity to work in the "joint" world. Joint in military parlance is when all four military services are working under the same command. As a blue Air Force guy, I had to learn the ways and traditions of Army green, Marine khaki and Navy blue...the mix of colors in the joint world we affectionately call Purple. The Navy traditions particularly interested me since my Dad was a career Navy officer. Joy and I had a special privilege several years ago to see these traditions up close and personal when a former co-worker, CDR Joe Leonard, took command of a Navy ship in Pascagoula, MS and we were invited to attend. The change of command was conducted while the ship was dockside. After the ceremony we were given the opportunity to board the ship for tours. As a Colonel, Joy was impressed that I was given the courtesy of being piped aboard the ship and announced over the ships PA system. Careful to render the proper military courtesy's I saluted the US flag flying at the ship's stern before stepping onto the gangplank to make our way "over the side". At the top of the gangplank I returned the salute of the officer of the watch and we stepped on board (OBTW: I am pretty sure I did it right in person, if I am explaining it wrong I am sure some of my Navy friends will correct me). The bosun's pipe shrilled it's melodious OooEEEooo whistle. "Colonel and Mrs Hatch...arriving" the loud speaker blared. We had our own tour guide and crawled around the entire ship for a good while. After some refreshment we reversed the ceremonial procedure for our departure. The bosun's pipe shrilled, OooEeeooo, as we stepped down the gangplank. "Colonel and Mrs Hatch departing", we heard behind us just as our feet hit the dock.

As we pulled our rig away from Suffolk, our home for the past 7 years, full of our own individual memories, and took a navigation heading South to eventually head West, I said again to my wife.

"Joy, pucker up".

"You're driving", she scolded.

"No not that. Get your whistler ready. You're a better whistler than I". I reminded her of the Navy ceremony.

"WoooEeeOooo" we both whistled mimicking the shrill of the bosun's pipe.

"Colonel and Mrs Hatch. Departing"